Summit Point Raceway

Summit Point Raceway is a 2 mile road course located near Summit Point,
West Virginia, approximately equidistant between Charles Town,
West Virginia and Winchester, Virginia (about 15 minutes from I-81.)

Summit Point has recently added the "Jefferson" and
"Shennendoah" circuits,
alternative road courses intended to expand the opportunities at
the facilty .

Pro races are not presently part of the Summit Point schedule, although
Summit Point has hosted IMSA and
SCCA
Trans-Am in the past.
Currently, one SCCA National race, a large number of SCCA regionals,
and two SCCA Drivers Schools occur at the track during the course of
a year, as well as a large number of Club Dates put on by organizations
such as the Porsche Club of America, the BMW Car Club of America, and
so forth. Summit Point is also heavily used by motorcycle and kart racers.

Significant portions of this page were contributed
by Wayne Burstein and Pete Cage.

Note that the current official web site is done entirely in
Macromedia Shockwave, and may not be viewed unless you have
a Shockwave plugin installed.

Speedway Drive on the Yahoo Map is one of the entrances to the
track. The track is represented on the map as if it were normal
roads and highways.

Summit Point is only a 70 mile drive from the Baltimore-Washington area,
through areas of rustic beauty and historical note. Traveling from the
Baltimore-Frederick area brings you through Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
and the confluence of the
Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. If you are driving west from the Washington
area, you will pass through the rolling hills of the Virginia horse country
and over the Blue Ridge mountains.

From McLean

Take Route 7 west past Leesbug, toward Winchester. Turn right on Route 632.
and go right at the next two "T" intersections. Track is on right.

From Frederick

Take U.S. 340 through Charles Town, then go straight on WV Route 51 for one
block. Bear left onto Summit Point Road (Route 13). Track is on the left one
half mile past the town of Summit Point.

From Winchester

From U.S. 81 take Route 7 east for approximately 7 miles and turn left on
Route
632. Turn right at next two "T" intersections. Track is on right.

Pete Cage is chief instructor for the Washington, D.C. Region of the
SCCA, and instructs for many marque clubs and other events at SPR.
He has logged well over 40,000 laps at the track in vehicles ranging
from a Mercury Marquis station wagon to a Tiga/Ferrari Camel Lights car.
He recently held the Club Ford lap record at the track.

This hot lap description was recently revised to reflect changes at the
race track. It is copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 by A.F. Cage, and
was last revised on 5/4/1999.

Summit Point is considered by many to be a true "driver's" track, with
a unique combination of turns and straights that seems to favor no
particular type of car. There are several different types of surface
compounds at different locations around the track, and each of these
has a different grip characteristic. The track is relatively
slippery, especially in the wet, and conditions seem to change with
each session. It's a course that rewards smoothness and commitment.
Walking the course will help the driver spot landmarks and pavement
changes that pass by too quickly at speed.

Use this as a guide; your line may vary. I've found that the basic
line is pretty consistent among a wide variety of cars, with minor
adjustments for power differences and driving styles.

The front straight is 3000 feet long, and is entered at fairly high
speed from Turn 10 (Paddock Bend). The straight runs up a slight
incline until near Start/Finish, then begins a slight descent. Low
cars may bottom over some bumps about 2/3 of the way through.

The last portion of the front straight has recently been repaved with
smooth, grippy asphalt. There are five white painted brake markers
along each side of the track, spaced at 100-foot intervals. The
markers are large and easy to spot from well up the track.

In the event of braking failure, an access road leads slightly left
off the end of the straight to the skidpad area. There is a gravel
trap directly off the end of the turn, which will catch your car
unless you enter it in a straight line and keep moving.

Turns 1 and 2 combine to produce an increasing-radius, 180-degree
right hander. There is a crosshatched concrete patch, about eight
feet wide, that leads from the entry of Turn 1 until past the apex.
Begin your turn in at the left edge of the concrete, making sure to
keep your left tires on the patch. Apex by the red dot on the
curbing, taking care not to hit the curbing too hard, as it will pitch
the car up on two wheels and may cause a rollover. Accelerate hard
through the turn as you unwind the steering, taking as wide a line as
necessary to keep the rear end in line. Be aware of the transitions
onto and off of the new paving after the concrete ends, as the bumps
may upset your car if it is near its adhesion limit. An access road
on driver's left can be used as a track out point for more powerful
cars (but watch out for the hole as the pavement ends.) A smoothly
increasing radius will bring the car back to the right edge of the
track just as the track straightens out. Keep the car to the right as
you head toward Turn 3 (Wagon Bend.)

Turn 3 is a tricky, uphill left-hander with a somewhat blind
exit. Most cars will require some light braking for the entry,
although it will be more of a squeeze to settle the car than outright
threshold braking. If you are a left-foot braker, this turn is a good
candidate for that technique. There are two access roads to the right
that can be used for reference points. There is also a sharp bump/dip
combination near the entry that requires some brake modulation to
avoid upsetting the car. The track curves a bit before the entry
point so you can either follow the track edge or go straight toward
the entry, leaving the track edge. I prefer a straight entry, as it
leaves a bit of pavement to play with if the car should wiggle under
braking. Turn in from the extreme right edge of the track. The turn
in is earlier than you may want to believe, since the exit cannot be
seen from the turn-in point. Adjust your actual turn-in point to suit
your car and driving style. The entry is level, and the car will
slide a bit until the uphill portion catches the car. Apex toward the
middle of the curbing (look for another red dot) and let the car track
out onto the red and white exit curbing as it moves left to greet you.
The gravel trap begins at the exit curbing, so be careful not to run
wide, and watch for gravel that has been carried out onto the track
surface by overzealous competitors.

At the exit of Turn 3, aim for the left-hand edge of the track where
it disappears down the hill by the Black Flag station. At the crest of
the hill, you'll begin to follow the left hand side of the pavement as
you start down Turn 4 (The Chute.) The Chute is a very fast and scary
right hander that leads downhill with precious little runoff room on
either side. Taken correctly, it can save you quite a bit of lap
time. When conditions permit (i.e.: car, driver, track, and weather
optimal) this turn can be taken without braking, but you definitely
need to work up to it gradually. Get any braking done before you turn
in, and be back on the power at the entry point to transfer weight to
the rear tires. Turn in from the extreme left edge of the track just
as the edge of the asphalt veers sharply to the right (yes, it looks
very early - there's a white paint mark there that will help you to
find it) and clip the apex curbing gently at about the middle of its
length. Your speed should carry the car out to the left edge of the
track at the exit, which should be truly exciting if you've carried
enough speed through the turn. The instant the car is straight, begin
hard braking for Turn 5, the slowest turn on the course.

While a traditional line would have you enter Turn 5 from the right
side of the track, it is faster to sacrifice this slow turn in favor
of high speed down The Chute. Therefore, you enter Turn 5 from the
left edge of the track, putting your right side wheels in the middle
of the long curved concrete patch and following it around the corner
and out to the middle of the track. The concrete is very grippy;
beware if you should slide off of the concrete onto the asphalt, as
you will most likely go for a ride! (Cars with more grip than power
may be able to move a bit toward the center of the track prior to turn
in for 5, but beware of would-be passers entering on your left!) Let
your left turn carry you back to the left side of the track to set up
for the entry to The Carousel. You should touch the left side of the
track at the point where the pavement is scarred up from errant cars
running off and bottoming out.

The Carousel and the Esses make up the finesse portion of Summit
Point. Much time can be gained (or lost) through these turns, and a
small error usually compounds itself as you go along. The grippy
concrete patch through the beginning of The Carousel guides your turn
in; try to keep your outside wheels in the center of the long curved
patch. Hit the apex near the small white paint mark on the curbing.
Let the car drift out to near the left edge where the pavement changes
(leave about 2 feet, as the road goes off-camber at the edge) and
allow the same arc to bring the car back to the second apex. When
taken correctly, one steering wheel movement will connect entry, apex,
track out, and second apex. Make the second apex quite late, and keep
the car to the right of the track centerline. Make a smooth
transition to the left, apexing the left-hander just past the end of
the curbing. The pavement here is quite slippery, which may come as a
surprise after The Carousel. Keep the car to the left side of the
track to set up for the second Ess.

The second turn of the Esses is a very important turn. It leads onto
the second longest straight, which runs uphill under the bridge to
Turn 10. Many drivers give up quite a bit of time by entering late or
pinching the exit. There is much more pavement at the exit than can
be seen at the entry, and it is easy to wait too late to turn in,
pinching the turn and scrubbing off precious speed for the uphill
straight. Turn in at the pavement change and run along the entire
length of the apex curbing. There is a bit of a heave in the pavement
between the turn-in and the apex, and you may have to adjust your
steering input as the available grip varies over this hump. There is
also a sharp bump between the apex and the exit, but this should not
upset the car unless you're already rather out of shape when you hit
it. At the exit, let the car run wide to the left edge of the track,
joining it near the midpoint of the red and white exit curbing.
Faster cars and early-apexers can use this curbing as additional
track.

Taken properly, The Carousel and The Esses will be one long
acceleration zone, and will be flat out (except for shifts) in many
cars when taken correctly.

From the exit of The Esses, aim the car under the center of the
bridge. The road makes a long, lazy right turn between 8 and 10, which
you can straighten out by driving under the center of the bridge.
Your line should rejoin the left edge of the track just before the
entry to Turn 10.

Turn 10 leads onto the long front straight, and a fast exit is
important to good lap times. The corner, however, has a decreasing
radius, which means that your physical apex will be very late as you
try to fit an increasing radius line on the pavement. Most cars will
need to brake for the turn, and many may need to drop down a gear, but
be sure to do so smoothly so as not to upset the chassis on this fast
transition. Begin your turn in just before the pavement scarification
(grooving) and aim for a very late apex. Your apex point will not be
visible when you turn in; walking the course is helpful here. (Hint:
Look for the red spray paint dot marked "A.") The car should track
out to the middle of the red and white curbing on your left at the
exit. There is a gravel trap on driver's left similar to those at
Turns 1 and 3. Near the exit of the turn, the first few feet of the
trap have been paved with rough asphalt, which is a good safety net in
case you should overcook it into the corner. If you use this asphalt,
watch out for a big hole at the end of the curbing. If you should
drop a wheel off here I recommend driving the car off driver's left
rather than fighting it, or you might get to visit the tire wall on
driver's right along the pit straight.

There's a lot to remember on a fast lap at Summit. Add in some
traffic and passing, and you'll be pretty busy. SPR is a track of
nuances; the last 5% of speed is extremely difficult to find. Keep at
it, though, and you'll find the course to be as rewarding as it is
challenging.